1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information searching method of profile information, a program, a recording medium, and an apparatus which are used for searching profile data indicative of features such as user, contents, services, and the like and presuming an unknown attribute value by using attribute values. More particularly, the invention relates to an information searching method of profile information, a program, a recording medium, and an apparatus which are used for searching valid profile data and presuming an unknown attribute value on the basis of significance of an attribute designated as a search input.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In recent years, it has become important to execute information processes such as search in which attention is paid to features of each user, each contents, and each service, presumption of an unknown attribute value, and the like by holding features such as user, contents, services, and the like as profile data and effectively using those profile data. For example, in case of starting up a certain project in a company, a technique such that information such as posts, belonging, skills, and the like of employees is held as profile data and the employee suitable for each charge of the project can be searched by using the profile data is becoming important. In the field of electronic commerce, a technique such that user profile data showing features of a customer is held and whether the customer is a superior customer or an inferior customer is presumed by using the user profile data is becoming important. As mentioned above, information processes such as search, presumption, and the like using various profile data are becoming important. A technique such that it is possible to perform search and presumption effectively using the features such as each user, each contents, and each service, is demanded.
According to the conventional information searching technique, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-2001-148864, a method whereby similar users are preliminarily clustered on the basis of profile data and search and presumption are performed on the basis of features of the users belonging to the same cluster is used. According to such a technique, the cluster to which the user is assumed to belong is selected from the clusters which have previously been created, and the users belonging to such a cluster are presented, so that the users similar to such a user can be searched. An unknown attribute value can be presumed from distribution of values in the cluster to which the user is assumed to belong.
In the conventional information search regarding the profile data as a target, however, since it is necessary to previously create the clusters before the profile data is searched or the unknown attribute value is presumed, if the profile data changes, a problem such that it is impossible to cope with a change in information until the clusters are newly created occurs. Although the user profile data belongs to one of the clusters which have previously been created, if there is a difference between the features of the user profile data and the cluster, a problem such that precision of the search for the user profile data or the presumption of the unknown attribute value deteriorates occurs. Further, since the search for the users by the user profile data can be executed only from a uniform viewpoint, there is a possibility that an operation of high costs such that a desired result is searched from many search results is forced on a searcher.